The New Global Possible: Rebuilding Optimism in the Age of Climate Crisis

"A compelling and hopeful reminder that change is not only within our grasp--it is already happening."
--Jane Goodall

"A must-read for anyone looking for hope and optimism at a critical point in history."
--John Kerry

Global environmental leader Ani Dasgupta takes an honest look at lagging climate action and maps out what can be done to rebuild hope for the future.

In 2015, world leaders came together in Paris and signed an agreement to save the planet. Ten years later, we have made little progress on the ground, and the climate crisis is worse than ever. We've mostly figured out what we need to do, but not how to get it done--and time is running out.

In this groundbreaking new book, World Resources Institute President and CEO Ani Dasgupta explores how to orchestrate change at speed and scale. How do we get countries to keep working together on climate action when multilateralism is declining? How do we harness technological innovation to protect nature, rather than destroy it? How do we dismantle entrenched power structures and rapidly transition to a clean, resilient economy?

Based on conversations with more than one hundred leaders around the world, The New Global Possible weaves together stories of unusual partnerships, collaborative leadership, and lessons learned from failure. Mining the rich history of the climate movement, Dasgupta defines the narrow path to a hopeful future--one requiring all of our collective focus and determination--and offers a radical new practice for orchestrating change for good.

Ani Dasgupta is President and CEO of World Resources Institute (WRI), where he spearheads global efforts to drive systemic change across climate, nature, and human development. Dasgupta is a widely recognized leader in climate policy and finance, sustainable cities, and poverty alleviation. His work has been featured in The New York Times, TIME, and many global media outlets. He took the helm at WRI in 2021 after seven years as Global Director of the WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities. Prior to joining WRI, Dasgupta spent two decades at the World Bank. Dasgupta grew up in Delhi, India. He lives in Washington, DC, with his wife, and has two children.

Christiana Figueres is an internationally recognized leader on climate change. She was Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) from 2010-2016, successfully directing international negotiations that culminated in the historic Paris Agreement of 2015. Together with Tom Rivett-Carnac, she is a Founding Partner of Global Optimism, a purpose-driven enterprise focused on social and environmental change, host of the podcast Outrage + Optimism, and coauthor of The Future We Choose: Surviving the Climate Crisis.